Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c6.13

c6.13

The general incommunicativeness of eighteenth century Indian scholars and specialists in the various fields had two probable roots: one, the usual secretiveness of such persons, and, two, the very sophistication and complexity of their theories which in their view (whether rightly or wrongly) would not have been understood by most Europeans. It is possible that the various sciences and technologies were on a decline in India around 1750 and, perhaps, had been on a similar course for several centuries previously. But there seems little doubt that the processes, methods, theories and formulations described in the contemporary accounts included in this volume were very much a living reality in the areas of India to which they pertain. Whether these were also used or taught or discussed in most other parts is a matter for detailed investigation, not only into the English language records, but more so in the surviving indigenous Indian records of the period, and also the Indian archival material in other foreign languages. How do mid-eighteenth century Indian sciences and technologies compare with the sciences and technologies in earlier periods requires similar investigation.